Removing the dummy

[PetrovaFossil1]

Hi all,

I have an 18 week old who uses a dummy to get to sleep (aside from the dummy he will self settle and he has no other props - no rocking or feeding to sleep etc).

It falls out of his mouth in his sleep and normally he'll sleep through sleep cycles at night but wakes up after one 45min cycle in the day. This week he has been waking at night every 1-2hrs but going back to sleep when I pop it back in.

I know 4 months is a regression anyway but it seems the dummy may be causing issues.

Is there any way I can break the habit without crying it out at this age, or is he too little given no other props? Ideally I'd like him to take longer daytime naps too and wonder if the dummy is also causing that issue.

[PetrovaFossil1]

To clarify - he has never slept all night, but he used to do one long stretch at the start which has now stopped.

[StepfauxWife]

No answers I'm afraid but bumping for you!

I have a 20 week old who is exactly the same - has a dummy for sleep and 45 minute naps during the day (no matter what I do). She sleeps okay at night - 7pm until around 2/3am and then a little more unsettled for the second half of the night.

I suspect what you describe is sleep regression. We had a similar story but it has improved over the last week or so. But very interested in how to deal with the dummy!

[Sandsnake]

Sounds like classic four month sleep regression to me. The 45 minute napping also sounds quite normal for your baby's age - they will likely consolidate and you tend to see fewer, longer naps around six months.

Personally, I wouldn't remove the dummy as it sounds like your baby's wakings are more likely to be age related / developmental than as a consequence of the dummy. The fact that your baby used to (pre-regression) sleep several sleep cycles when it had fallen out supports this. It could be that you remove the dummy, your DS still wakes every two hours but you will have lost your ability to resettle him quickly.

And here's some for you - the four month sleep regression is bloody horrible!

[PetrovaFossil1]

Thanks Sandsnake. I think I stressed myself out reading something by a sleep consultant online blaming the short naps on dummy usage but I suspect it may just depend on the individual baby.
I am planning on trying to introduce some sort of comforter as well which I'm hoping will help him resettle himself in the future (maybe very distant future!)

[Fairy45]

Stick it out. Soon your baby will be rolling and once they sleep on their stomach the dummy doesn't fall far n they can do it themselves. This was exactly the same with my dd but I just threw the dummies away. I had 1 night of great sleep followed by a month of hell. I got really poorly, I was a single mum getting no sleep and not eating. One night I was bottle feeding her in bed and we both fell asleep. 6 hours later I woke up and she was still suckling her empty bottle. That's when I realised she needed a dummy back and I've never looked back since. She's 14 months now and I'm in no rush to lose the night time dummy. My only rule is that its for sleeping only now she's 1.
Hope this helps :)